AN AFTERNOON WITH: Masters and Johnson; Divorced, Yes, But Not Split

By ENID NEMY

Published: March 24, 1994

ST. LOUIS—
PROFESSIONALLY, they were the most renowned couple engaged in the study of human sexuality. To the world at large they were, quite simply, the sex experts. All of which made the news of their separation in 1992, after 21 years of marriage, and their divorce last year, a major surprise.

Dr. William H. Masters, 78, and Virginia E. Johnson, 69, have always been full of surprises. They have been lambasted and lauded, lightning rods for controversy and criticism, for almost three decades. When these voluble and strong-willed partners published a physiology textbook in 1966, they suddenly became public creatures. The book, "Human Sexual Response," dealing with the science of human sexuality, became a huge popular success, and their names were inextricably linked. Their marriage, in 1971, officially sealed the pairing.

Their parting was amicable; they went out to dinner after signing the divorce papers. A year later, they were interviewed together, at their request, in the three-story house here that Ms. Johnson kept after the divorce.

They now seldom see each other socially but continue to collaborate, most recently on the just published "Heterosexuality" (HarperCollins, $27.50).

Both Dr. Masters and Ms. Johnson said they were surprised at the reaction to their separation. Scores of letters and telephone calls poured in, most of them, Ms. Johnson said, both poignant and amusing.

"Amusing to us," she said, "because there was an assumption we had had a sexual problem. It was like, 'Poor things, can we help you?' "

One writer said, "It's like my mother and father getting a divorce." Another wrote, "How can you help others if you can't help yourselves?"

"We never thought we had that persona," Ms. Johnson said. "We would tell them we did help ourselves: we did exactly what we wanted to do in accord with our clear and considered requirements."

The 595-page volume "Heterosexuality" was written with Dr. Robert C. Kolodny, a former associate at the Masters & Johnson Institute, who is now the medical director of the Behavioral Medicine Institute in New Canaan, Conn. A distillation of 30 years of research and clinical programs, it covers what seems to be every conceivable area of male-female sex, including AIDS, sexual addictions, sex and aging, and discrepancies in desires.

Dr. Masters, who during the interview showed few signs of Parkinson's disease, which he has had for several years, still travels and lectures and is actively involved in research. The institute, which the couple founded in the 1950's, has become smaller in recent years. While it pioneered the field of therapy for sexual dysfunctions, it no longer has a formal training program for therapists, instead concentrating on research and treatment programs, especially concerning sexual traumas like rape and molestation.

Still in operation is the institute's famous two-week intensive psychotherapy program, emphasizing communication and problem-solving skills to identify psychological and medical obstacles to a pleasurable sexual relationship. The program, for couples, includes a year of follow-up, and can cost up to $3,500.

Dr. Masters's "professional preoccupation was always 80 to 90 percent of his life," said Ms. Johnson, who has pulled back from institute work. "It was seven days a week, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and every holiday."

Still, at one point, she added, "I don't remember a time at home when the sound of some sport was not coming over television and radio."

"She makes too much of it," Dr. Masters interjected.

Her plans now include producing videos "using many forms but no explicit sex," she said, adding: "I'm developing a way to convey information to couples so that they can individually understand and appreciate their own sexuality. The whole issue is self-discovery."

Dr. Masters was remarried last summer, to Geraldine Baker Oliver, a woman he met 55 years ago while he was in medical school at the University of Rochester, had seen only a few times in the ensuing years and met again by happenstance. "It's a wonderful experience," he said in his mellifluous voice.

Ms. Johnson added, "He had an opportunity to do what few people can: go back to a wonderful time in his life before he was as involved professionally."

Ms. Johnson has not remarried. She was married twice before her marriage to Dr. Masters, first to a lawyer who she said was not interested in having children, then to George Johnson, a musician with whom she had a son and a daughter. Dr. Masters was also married previously and he, too, has a son and a daughter.

Ms. Johnson sat in a dark green chair that matched the sofa and other chairs in a living room that was almost devoid of personal objects, clever picture arrangements or other decorative touches. Clearly, such things are not her chief concerns. Halfway through a three-hour conversation, she began to discuss marriage.

"It never occurred to me that I would not marry," she said. "I was following a societal imperative. Now, it's not a priority, but I like a man in my life, and commitment, and I probably will remarry."

The two are still apt to finish each other's sentences, and they engage in light sparring. "What year were we married?" she said suddenly.

"Nineteen seventy-one," Dr. Masters replied.

"That was a fun question," she said. "I just wanted to see if he remembered."

"I'm damn lucky I did," he said.

There was apparently little time for banter during the marriage.

"We kind of belonged to other people, not ourselves," Ms. Johnson said. "We thought in terms of our work and what we hoped to accomplish, not a private or social life.